Sanitary individual telephone mouthpiece



Dec. 17, I929. A. w. CROSS 1,739,950

SANITARY INDIVIDUAL TELEPHONE MOUTHPIECE Filed Dec. 19, 1927 INV'ENTOR Anne M (IZ'OSS BY QM IIM;

ATTORN EY Patented Dec. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES T ET mes ANNE W. CROSS, OF STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR- OF ONE-THIRD TO BURNETT I CONNELL AND ONE-THIRD TO BERNARD PRIVAT I SANITARY INDIVIDUAL TELEPHONE MOUTHPIEOE Application filed December 19, 1927. Serial No. 241 315.

This invention relates to telephone mouth pieces my principal object being to provide a detachable mouthpiece of an inexpensive material so that it may be discarded after being once used; and to provide a means for properly supporting the mouth piece in operative position relative to the telephone while enabling it to be easily placed and removed by the user.

My improved device is particularly intended for use on public telephones which are used by people of all kinds and in varying conditions of ill health, some of whom speak closely into the mouth piece as is customary and are bound to leave dangerous disease germs in the mouth piece which may be transmitted to the next person using the telephone. As a result of the use of the ordinary permanently fixed and unsanitary mouthpieces, I believe that many people have undoubtedly contracted diseases who otherwise would escape. I

With my improved mouthpiece such conditions cannot obtain if the individual user merely exercises the necessary caution to always insert a new mouthpiece when using the telephone.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of one form of mouthpiece and its holder as mounted in connection with a telephone.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the holder itself.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the mouthpiece.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation showing the mouthpiece as connected to a modified form of holder.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the relatively fixed member of the holder detached,

Fig. 6 is a similarview of the removable member of the holder. 1

Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of still another modified form of holder and mouthpiece. I Y Referring now to the numerals of reference on the drawlngs, and particularly at present to Figs. 13,'1 denotes the diaphragm casing of the telephone, the front cover plate 2 of which has a tapped boss 3 in which the usual hard rubber mouthpiece is screwed. I remove this mouthpiece and inits place screw a short sleeve 4thaving a shoulder 5 which limits the inward screwing movement of the tive tothe web 6, so that-said web and bottom 7 will not engage each other and no interference with sound is had if the perforations injthe web and bottom do not register. The taper fit between the mouthpiece and its holder provides for ease of placement of the mouthpiece in position while insuring a relatively rigid support of the mouthpiece; and the taper or slopeof the mouth piece-from end to end enables them to benested together in a compact form as is done with sanitary paper drinking-cups and the like. The web in the sleeve serves as a protector for the diaphragm and prevents the same from being possibly accidently or'maliciously damagedwhen the mouthpiece is removed and the diaphragm is thus freely exposed.

In the form of the device above described 95 the sleeve is never intended to be removed. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 4 toFig. 6, thetype of mouthpiece is the same, but I employ a different holder arrangement. This holder comprises a smooth bore bushing e to be screwed into the boss The age-1e piece holding sleeve 10 is detaohably supported by the bushing, the inner portion 10 of the sleeve being of reduced diameter to fit the bore of the bushing and has longitudinal slits to enable said portion to be somewhat contracted and thus to have a desired Wedge or-press'fit in the bushing.

Intermediate its ends this sleeve h-as'a perforated Web 11 and the mouthpiece .7fitsinto the sleeve outwardly of v the Web, said sleeve having a shoulder 12 to vprevent.themoutll piece from being pressed into place as far as the Web. The space thus leftbet-WeenLme Web and the bottom oi the mouthpiece is utilized to detachably receivea small-hoop 13 over which a piece of sanitary gauze 14 or the like is stretched. WVith this arrangement the hoop may be removed at anytime to replacethe gauze and the sleeve like-Wise may be removedfor-cleaningwhen desired, Without disturbing or unscrewing thebu slr ing an operation which ii-repeated many timeswould soon cause thethreads to'be' Worn out.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. '7 ,1the bushing 9 is 'retainedbut-the sleeve -10 is replaced bya relatively small'straight sided sleeve 15. The outer portion ofthis sleeve is adapted to fit inside the mouthpiece 7?, Whose bottom 8 is depressed some distance intothemouthpiece as shown soxas'to enable the sleeveto be-inserted-sufiiciently to'provide a support for the '1n0uthpiece,;and also limiting the extent to which the sleeve'may project into; the mouthpiece.

{From the foregoing description it .Wlll be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the ;-obje cts of the inventionasset 'forth herein.

'Whilethis specification sets forth in detail thepresentand preferred construction ,ofithe device,-sti11-in practice such deviations from such-detailmay beresortedto as do-notform a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as definedf'by"the-appended claims. v Havin-g thus'dscribed my invention-what I claim as new' and useful and 'desiretosecure by 1 Letters *Patent is 1. A sanitary telephone mouthpiecestructure, said telephone *havin g an "orificed diaphragm-casing cover; comprising a rigid member to be secure'dto :said cover and to project outward lythere'from about the orifice and a flexible mouthpiece arranged ito have detachable frictional engagement with and be sup-ported-at its;inne-r end"by said member.

1-2. A sanitary ftelephone mouthpiece structure,- said te'lephonehavingadiaphragnrcasns 9 'l il ith starr d. Qri fi wom- P I b h re t b scr ed i t a d ifi cc i c -r t be. d t chi b y P ess djinw h hi' gian i rpreiec w d y the rqmr and .awo thri e t i'b -i peortet bar t sleeve an -:-har n a de ach ble p s -fit he: wi h l i i l 3. A sanitary telephone mouthpiece structure, said telephone having an orificed diaphragm-casing cover and a rigid member secured to and projecting outwardly from said cover, comprising a flexible mouthpiece element to detachably project at its inner end over the outer end of sa'ifd member with a frictional fit.

4. A sanitary telephone mouthpiece structure, said telephone ;h avi-ng an orificed diaphragm casing cQv-erand a member secured to and projecting outwardly from said cover, comprising aLmouthpiece,;element to detachably fit over the outer end of said member,

-and'acrossavall imsaid element a predetermined distance from the inner end thereof to eng-age'the outer end of the telephone member-andlimit the extent to Which saidelement may project over the member.

5. A sanitary telephoneattachment com- 

